How To Start A Blog

HOW TO START A NEW BLOG IN 2019

Wondering, what’s the spark of blogging that attracts every other person to start a blog and an entire business online? Blogging gives an individual a voice, exposure, career, audience, and money to live a happier life.

Would you like to know how to start a blog quickly?

Blogging is something which has been happening for years but still, a lot of people simply don’t know about it and how to take the first step of creating a blog. Do you want to pursue a creative outlet, engage with a following and want to make money from home? With one blog, you are encouraged to establish an audience, teach skills, make money, and sell products, crafts, ebooks, courses etc.

Yes, you can absolutely do it!

When I started blogging, my reactions were exactly same like you. A blog? What’s that? How can I be a blogger? What’s the purpose of setting up a blog? How to start blogging? Can I make money from blogging? What are best blog sites? Should I go for free blogging platforms or buy hosting? Crap! What is web hosting?

You see there were a number of questions I was mumbling that time. And, now I’m teaching you ‘how to start a blog’ and create a platform for yourself. This post will eventually cut down your web searches for creating a blog, domain name, hosting, installing WordPress, essential WordPress plugins, and several other blogging tools.

Sit back and relax.

I’ll help you take baby steps for starting your own blog to start writing your first post. I also have to make sure that each thing I’m writing here is what I’ve earned through a potentially busy year of learning all about blogging.

And,

It’s time to save some money!

Let’s delve in.

WHY YOU SHOULD START A BLOG

You must be thinking why I need to start my blog? If you are a passionate individual, mom, retired dad or even a student who’s looking to pursue an online career then blogging is the right option for you.

On average, more than 2 million blogs are published online. The statistics show the sheer interest of people in blogging.

If blogging inspires you then there’s nothing to stop you from becoming a successful blogger. You just need to set blogging goals, commitment and few dollars to kickstart the mesmerizing field of blogging.

With blogging, you can generate 6 figures income to live a life that you always wanted. You can enjoy the perks of becoming your own boss with one single blog. It gives you a strength and recognition among the competitive bloggers. It provides a platform to showcase your skills, capabilities, interests, recommendations, and stories. A number of readers and buyers across the computer screens are finding blogs in the search of products, books, posts, advice, guides, helpful notes, images, accessories, stories etc. Think about it! Maybe it could be your blog.

DECIDE YOUR BLOGGING NICHE

This has to be your most important step before leaning forward. If you want to start a blog you need to come up with a good idea. Your idea doesn’t have to be revolutionary but it has to be unique in some way. You must be thinking how it can be possible to work on an idea which is yet not picked up my million of blogs and excessive data on Google?

Yes, you are right. But, remember you have a distinct voice to share with the audience. You own a vibrant personality that will grab the attention of friends, family, and followers. Right?

While deciding a blog niche it is significant to consider these two points;

A)Am I interested in learning more about this topic?

Honestly, you shouldn’t do blogging if you don’t love what you are doing. It’s not a monthly contract or a weekly schedule but it has to be your daily routine work. So, you cannot work on topics which don’t interest you.

You have to be curious about your topic to develop ideas, unique content and more things to make it successful. It’s time to think about your skills or things you are best at. Reach out to your friends and family or people of your surrounding to get a better idea of what you are efficient at. Remember, you know best.

B)How can I be specific on a particular topic?

Whether you come up with the idea of home decor ideas or fitness – try to be specific. You can do a quick research on the main keyword. You’ll millions of blogs of the same topic.

Re-think and focus on a more narrowed topic. If that’s home decor ideas determine what you are best at.

There’s a super creative blogger who’s known for making recycled paper jewelry. And, she’s earning income through a blog and selling her products online. Isn’t that awesome?

Just like her – you need to figure out what you are best at.

CHOOSE A BLOGGING PLATFORM

You have built an idea, a strong blog niche and now, want to choose a blog platform? At this stage, you might be thinking what’s the best blogging platform to get started with your blogging journey?

I agree there are a number of free blogging platforms that allow you to create a new blog, update content and share. But, Are those platforms worth joining?

If you just want to start a personal blog with no intention of starting an online business or a career – you can fully utilize free blog sites. Even, few people make money from those too. It is imperative to understand that there’s a difference between a blog hosted at WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

The free WordPress.com comes with limitations and maybe downsides. It will restrict you to run any ad campaigns, several widgets, and many plugins. But, with self-hosted WordPress.org you can utilize several tools, plugins, widgets, themes, add-ons, and multiple applications to create a site that you’ve ever imagined.

If you plan to get into the blogging world for a long time then I’d recommend using WordPress as the efficient blogging platform. Even if you are a non-tech person or an absolute newbie, there are tons of videos, articles and blog posts to teach you every single step. Easy-Peasy.

This tutorial will show you all the steps to start building a blog on your own. Guess what – you even don’t need to install WordPress. Bluehost will automatically install it as soon as you follow the next steps.

Bluehost’s new feature ‘Blue Spark’ provides free service to walk you through all steps to set up a wordpress website. It’s all free! When you buy from bluehost, just contact to their support team and avail blue spark services for free. A trained team of wordpress experts will guide you through all technicalities.

Cool, right?

There is no second thought for selecting WordPress as the blog platform. You will thank me later for choosing WordPress over other platforms. It won’t trouble you at all.

Also,

I’ve got a special 50% off discount for you to avail!

The post may contain affiliate links. If you buy any product through my link, I might earn a small amount of commission.

SELECT A DOMAIN NAME

Okay, what’s a domain?

A domain name is a friendly name that refers to identify a website or blog. Every blog needs to have a domain.

If you are clueless about choosing a domain name, there’s nothing to fret about. It can be a little challenge. Choosing a domain name for your blog is actually a fun game. The most competitive domain names are with .com and .org. A number of domain names tools can help you select a domain for your blog. It gives you tons of synonyms, ideas, funny names and available combinations that you can use with a certain focus word.

(Just scroll down to get a free domain with Bluehost)

Few Tips To Use When Purchasing A Domain Name

Is the name easily pronounceable? There’s no purpose to confuse your audience with a complicated domain.

Are you creating a blog about you? Simply use your name.

Make sure it can be typed easily.

Is it short and rememberable?

If you are thinking about a strong niche like blogging, cooking, health – come up with more ideas to make it a narrower topic.

You don’t need to overthink about buying a domain name. But, it is recommended to do a little search before so that it helps you in future. It would be good if your blog is intuitive to Google and the readers.

When you buy hosting from Bluehost, you get a FREE domain for a year. I did the same, and I did not have to pay for the domain for the first year. Afterward, the charges are normal.

GET WEBSITE HOSTING

Good Job! You have come up with a name. It’s time to buy a good website hosting company to handle your blog. Your web hosting company provides you with an online space where all the files are kept. It enables to enjoy all the internet services that will be required to run a blog.

As I trust in Bluehost services, I have got a $3.95 Special Price Offer for my readers which is almost 50% OFF to the regular price $7.99 (on the home page).

Scroll down to find out how you can get the discount and sign up with Bluehost.

It’s an important decision to select a reliable hosting company for your blog. While selecting your host, it’s significant to choose a host that provides an excellent service and a fantastic customer support. Many bloggers, including me, are not too technical to handle all the complexities of hosting etc. It’s very important to build trust in a company that provides immense 24/7 customer support.

BLUE SPARK : GET FREE WORDPRESS SETUP WITH BLUEHOST NEW FEATURE

Blue Spark is a free service offered by WordPress experts. If you buy a new account with Bluehost, you have this free opportunity to get your website setup by a wordpress expert. How good is that? When I started, I had to do it all from scratch.

I also understand learning wordpress, installing plugins and choosing a theme can be hard for newbies. It can be overwhelming! WordPress experts at bluehost will walk you through the easy process of setting up a website. All for free!

How To Get Blue Spark Service ?

As soon as you buy your hosting, just contact bluehost 24/7 support team and they will respond. Trained bluehost representatives will speak to you and walk you through the process step by step.

When you share your website goals, they will suggest you recommended plugins and a good theme option. However, it’s up to you if you want to go for a theme. But, as said, they are experts. So, they might tell you the best.

Bluehost is one of the top web hosting companies which is exceptionally recommended by WordPress.org. It has successfully hosted more than millions of websites thus became a top-rated web host. The best thing is that it hardly takes 5 minutes to install WordPress with Bluehost. Oh, Yes! Currently, my blog is also on Bluehost which is proving to be a good hosting company. It provides various functions, has a responsive customer support system and very affordable.

You can sign up just at $3.95/month (Special Price OFFER)

A FREE domain for one year (It saves your $12 -$15)

24/7 Customer support

Amazing features

Easy refunds

Free WordPress Integration

It depends on the plan you choose. Whatever plan you buy, you will end up saving money using my special promo link. Make sure you avail it as you won’t get this discount somewhere else!

HOW TO START YOUR NEW WORDPRESS BLOG IN 30 MINUTES

I’m going to walk you through the step by step guide for creating your WordPress blog with bluehost. Just stick to this post and you’ll have a beautiful website within minutes. The process is pretty easy and quick. So, it won’t take too much time.

Step 1 – Click this link Sign Up for Bluehost. It will redirect you to the main page where you can click the big green button ‘getting started now’. When you’ll sign up through this affiliate link, you may get few extra benefits too. (Thanks for signing up).

Step 2 – You can select a preferable hosting plan.

Basic

Plus

Prime

According to your blog and business needs, you can select a plan.

Step 3 – Now either register a new domain name for free with Bluehost or select ‘I have a domain name’. If you’ve already purchased a domain name you can still enjoy one free domain (value $12).

Step 4 – Here you can put all the required data for purchasing the hosting. I’d suggest you recheck all the information. Make sure you put everything correctly and re-check it. Provide the official email address.

Continue to next step…

Step 5 – At the ‘package information’ section – you can avail the services for 36 months (3-years) at a cheap price of $2.95/month. It’s important to notice that you are pre-paying for a future period. The reason to invest in a good hosting company is that it builds trust by offering a 30-day money back guarantee. If you think the cost is too much then you can always consider the 12-month plan. Make sure, you un-check all other features if you don’t want to avail. You can always upgrade other services anytime. So, this is nothing to worry about.

Step 6 – Put your billing information and click the checkbox to agree with all the services etc. If there are any further additional options just un-check those and move ahead. All the services could be added later.

Step 7 – Congratulations! Now, you have just completed the process. Create a strong password for your account. Make sure it has strong characters and a good length.

Step 8 – Now, you have got a new password for your next login! Here’s what your window looks like.

Step 9 – Coming at this step, you will need to pick a theme that you like. Don’t worry, it’s just a temporary theme. You can choose any other theme later on or even go with a premium theme.

Just choose a random theme to continue building your new website.

If you want to skip the technical setup then just contact bluehost team to avail blue spark services for free.

Step 10 – Wonderful!

Your WordPress is already installed, and now you’re done with a free WordPress theme.

It’s time to start building your website.

Step 11 – Great! Now, you will probably see this window that says ‘Welcome to WordPress’.

This is the WordPress Dashboard. Below, I will also help you get familiar with this dashboard.

With basic instructions, you can choose whether you would like to build a business website or personal blog. And, if you know the basic WordPress settings that you can do it on your own.

Step 12 – Good job!

At this step, you can take a quick tour of WordPress, and how it works. You can either set up your website first, and launch it later or launch it today, and then set it up later.

I would suggest setting up your website first because the first impression shouldn’t be awful for visitors. Create a Menu, set up categories, create pages, and add a few posts. You can always test and play because this is what we all do when we’re excited to start from scratch.

Get excited to give a completely new look to your blog.

If you want to launch your site, add the website name and description.

Then, click ‘next step’

Awesome!

Below, you see WordPress site management. Here, you can take a look at your site, and what theme it uses etc. Basically, Bluehost new interface is so easy to use for new bloggers. Even if you’re totally new to blogging and setting up websites, Bluehost makes it super easy to launch your own site.

GET FAMILIAR WITH WORDPRESS DASHBOARD

As a blogger, you will need to spend most of your time on WordPress dashboard. In the beginning, it might be very new and intimidating for you. But you will soon get used to navigating the interface. The best thing about WordPress is that it’s not complicated at all. In just a few days, you can become an active pro on managing the dashboard. It’s more fun.

Below is the home screen of your blog dashboard. It can be customizable according to your choice.

The next step you should right now is to change the common settings. Click on settings in the left bar and click ‘permalink’. Make sure you select the ‘post name’ option. It’s very important to make these settings before you start writing your post and generating URLs.

Now, you can navigate through the dashboard and find out several options for creating posts, pages, uploading media etc. You can’t become a webmaster in one day. As you start to write and publish blog posts on your blog you will understand more about the dashboard.

PICK A RESPONSIVE WORDPRESS THEMES

As you know, WordPress has produced a number of free plugins, themes and several features for the users. It also has a couple of great free WordPress themes you can utilize on your blog. But, a custom WordPress theme has it’s own advantages. If you have a good budget then buying a responsive theme is a great option.

A combination of Genesis Framework with a child theme works significantly beautiful for many site owners. There are several other options like Studiopress, Pretty Darn Cute etc.

Elegant Themes has some pretty themes, in reasonable price. Divi is the most popular WordPress theme, having drag and drop visual page builder. Visit WordPress Gallery here.

INSTALL NECESSARY WORDPRESS PLUGINS

Now, you are done with installing a theme on your own. Good job!

It’s time to install the essential plugins on your website. At this stage, I’d just recommend most helpful and free WordPress plugins you can install on your blog site. You can always go for the paid versions anytime.

Installing a plugin is a straightforward process. Go to your dashboard and click ‘plugin’ in the left bar. Then click ‘Add new’. Put the name of the plugin in the search bar, located on the right side of the screen. Search for the plugin and click ‘Install Now’. Simple!

You should also set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console on your blog.

SET UP SITE PAGES

In order to create a professional website or blog, you also have to concentrate on setting up site pages. Have a look at the important pages below that you’ll be required to set up on the blog.

Disclosure, Privacy – If you have plans to generate income online through your website then you have to follow Google policies. If you are an affiliate or use any ad program like Adsense then you have to mention it in your privacy policy. The main reason is to make sure that you comply with the law.

Contact Page – You probably want your readers to connect with you. The best way is to create a good contact page and add a contact form to it. People who are looking to contact you or the website can use this form to interact with you. Here’s my contact page with a form on it. Have a question? Write it to me arfa@shemeansblogging.com

An interactive About Page – New visitors are always interested in knowing about the blogger or the site owner. You can just google ideas to make an amazing page that tells about yourself and what you do. Even, a simple page works brilliantly. You can hover to my about page to know a little more about me 😉

BUILD AN EMAIL LIST

Once you are done with all the technical things, make sure you have an email list or RSS feed. I know you are just starting out but building an email list is an important component to growing your website. People want to read content from you. The email list is an essential part.

I useMailerlite to send out emails to my followers. I have been getting immense results after using mailerlite on my blog. You can even automate RSS feeds that will automatically send out the recently published post to your followers. There’s nothing to get worried about maintaining the lists etc. The auto-responder handles everything. You just need to get sign up for the tool. By the way, it’s free up to 1000 subscribers.

START WRITING YOUR FIRST BLOG POST

I’m sure you must be damn excited to write the first ever blog post. I felt the same nervousness when I started out blogging. It’s a great feeling to write content for your readers. It also makes you feel proud that you have a readership that praises you.

Well, as a newbie blogger you may get worried of what to post on your blog?